Populism and Progressivism

I. The Populist PartyA. Background: What changes were taking place in agriculture in the U.S. between 1870 and 1900?1. Mechanization- machine were replacing people and animals of doing agricultural. Tractors being developed produced right after civil war. Problems: need money to own tractors, banks load money to farmer, interest.

Upkeep and maintain it to keep tractors running. Money to paid mechanic Added to the financial risk of farming, already gambling on soil and weather and crops.

2. Opening of new agricultural lands (West) - more and more land offered to people, land needed to be develop. Farmer could maintain more land than before because of technology. Problem: crops price were falling, land rush to make up for money lost on crops and to pay loans. High interests rate from bank. Huge drought in the Midwest, many farmers lost their farm, being taken over by banks (1886). More debt to get their way out of debt.

B. The "Agrarian Myth" and the Grange (the farming myth) - Jefferson believe independence farmer was the foundation of Americans society. Farmer discovered they were at mercy at banks and government because they were losing money. Grange- first farmer organization formed in the 1867 in response to problems farmer felt, clubs for farmer to establish connection with other farmer. Hang out and drank and shared ideas. Promoted railroad regulation. COOP- cooperative, way for farmer to try and save their money together and avoid using railroad....

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...Populism and progressivismPopulism and progressivism were two big movements that caused major transformation in the history of the United States. Both movements participated in creating reforms in order to help making the overall conditions of the United States better in variety of domains. Populism and Progressivism were similar in some ways but different in other ways.
Populism stated in the 1892s in St. Louis by a group of farmers and poor white people. Populists demanded the improvement of the farmer’s conditions and came up with a platform to protect their rights. In the banking area and industry, populists believed that the whole system of banking and currency was unfair and served only the wealthy people. For this reason they asked for a reform in the banking system and currency. In addition, they hoped for more government control over the money, industry, and communication systems including telegraph and railroads. Politically, populists called for a reform in terms of elections “populist platform called for the direct election of senators (then chose by state legislators) and for other electoral reforms, including the secret ballot and the right to initiate legislation, to recall elected officials, and to submit issues to the people by means of referendum.”(Roak et al. 591).meanwhile, they wanted to shorten the work hours to eight hours a day, they asked for a...

...Progressivism was an era that desired movement toward reform; it was not single instance but based on a series of advancements. With a new urban-industrial American on deck came the socioeconomic challenges of every day life. At a basic level, it was a response to the political and cultural changes that plagued the nation, the challenges as side effect of an industrial society. Many people were involved in Progressivism, especially the middle class. Even the immigrant, slum dwellers, and hard laborers took some initiative in hopes to refine the system. Collectively, the people mobilized the series of actions that demanded and granted changes the society of the nation, creating an era that was recognized for the progressive movement that led to outcomes that changed the socioeconomic status of America.
Major concerns engulfed the nation’s society, thus leading to the desire for reform. Some of the central issues included the spread of poverty, the exploitation of labor, monopolies, the breakdown of democratic government, and social injustice. Overall the problems promoted a rapid movement toward financial and industrial concentration and the people were simply a side affect. Most jobs were performed under hazardous conditions and for very little in wages. Wages were not even enough to support a family let alone feed their starving children. There was an absence of sick day, vacation time and certainly no benefits. Many workers were...

...Did the Progressives Fail?
Progressivism generated positive results. If one thinks of progressives as one group of people with one clear objective, then they succeeded. But, consider the word “progressives” as a general term that encompasses these assorted clusters unfairly, because it defines these groups as one. The progressives’ diverse and opposing views break up the previously described group into separate sets of individuals trying to achieve the same goals, in a different way. Because these groups did not agree on how to achieve things in one way, the “progressives” never met some objectives because their contradicting methods resulted in the opposite result. How could every one of these groups do what they set out to? No, they could not possibly have done so.
The “Progressive Era,” occurred between the years following the Spanish-American War and the United States’ involvement in World War I. Anti-war and anti-imperialistic views divided citizens from their government. This resulted in a reestablishment of traditional American values minded group. The open-door immigration policy unsettled the xenophobic, and otherwise racist, people. So many people in the confined spaces of big cities demanded attention to several things. Those issues included health conditions, working conditions, and the education of new arrivals.
These and other concerns could have led to hate and anger-induced riots. However, a large number of people thoughtfully...

...﻿Document A: Mary Elizabeth Lease, 1890 (ORIGINAL)
The mightiest movement the world has known in two thousand years. . . is sending out the gladdest message to oppressed humanity that the world has heard since John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness that the world’s Redeemer was coming to relieve the world’s misery….
I overheard yesterday morning at the hotel breakfast table a conversation between two gentlemen in regard to Ingalls. “I consider his defeat,” said the first speaker, “to be a national calamity.” "Your reasons,“ said the second. ”Why, he is such a brilliantly smart man,“ he replied. ”True,“ said the other; ”but he must needs be a smart man to be the consummate rascal he has proven himself to be.“ And I thought as I heard the remarks, ”Our opinion is also shared by men." You wonder, perhaps, at the zeal and enthusiasm of the Western women in this reform movement. Let me tell you why they are interested. Turn to your old school-maps and books of a quarter of a century ago, and you will find that what is now the. teeming and fruitful West was then known as the Treeless Plain, the Great American Desert. To this sterile and remote region, infested by savage beasts and still more savage men, the women of the New England States, the women of the cultured East, came with husbands, sons and brothers to help them build up a home upon the broad and vernal prairies of the West. We came with the roses of health on our cheek, the light of hope in our eyes,...

...﻿Jamie Geller
Mr. Hodgson
AP US
Essay 10
Debate: Wilsonian Progressivism Vs. Roosevelt Progressivism
During this period, progressivism was gradually rising from the local and state level to the national level. Increasing numbers of people across the nation supported expanding the role of the federal government to ensure the welfare of the people. Roosevelt felt that Taft was defying everything that they were for in government and decided to run agains't him. Roosevelt created the "Bull Moose" party. Although Roosevelt and Wilson were both progressives, they differed over the means and extent to which government should intervene or regulate the states and the economy. Differences between New Nationalism and New Freedom over trusts and the tariff became a central issue of the campaign. Roosevelt believed the federal government should act as a "trustee" for the American people, controlling and supervising the economy in the public interest. Wilson had greater reservations about a large federal government and sought a return to a more decentralized republic. Roosevelt and Wilson's national reforms made them successful during the progressive era. They were both successful progressive presidents.
Running for President in 1912, both Roosevelt of the Progressive Party, and Wilson of the Democratic Party, were competing for the progressive vote. In appealing to progressives, Roosevelt promoted his New Nationalism- the use of...

...laissez-fare officers
Well before 1900 and after, politicians and writer had began to pin point targets for the progressive attack
The social Gospel promoted a brand of progressivism based on Christian based teaching to help get better housing and living conditions for the poor.
many women improved the fight for their list of needed reforms
The Progressive had their roots with the Green Back labor party and the populist party
II. Racking Muck with the Muckrakers
Beginning about 1902 a group of ten and fifteen percent popular magazines begun to through up dirt about trust
muckraker - An early twentieth-century group of American writers. Typically, their works exposed the wrongdoing of big business and government in the United States. Upton Sinclair's The Jungle exemplifies the muckraking novel.
despite presidential scolding these muckraker keep writing and some became best sellers books
Some of the most effective fire of the muckraker was shot a social evil like the “white slave” and industrial accidents, blacks who were still illiterate or child labor.
Dr. Harvey W. Wiley exposed the frauds that sold potent patent medicines by experimenting on himself.
The muckrakers sincerely believed that cures for the ills of American democracy, was more democracy.
III. Political Progressivism
Progressive reformers mainly were middle-class men and women who felt squeezed from the corporations from above and the...

...The Era of Progressivism
The Progressive Era, an era that began the movement in reconstructing the nation’s problems which resulted from industry. This progression made, was to better the lives of American workers. The main goal was to fix the abuses caused by the industry. Progressivism was influenced by the middleclass, and it evolved from local level to the state and finally to the national level. The Progressive movement challenged the status quo in every facet of American life. The era of progressive reform was successful in bringing about effective changes economically and politically because of regulation of big business and growth of democracy. Nonetheless, now to introduce the many social problems of poverty, labor conditions, economic inequality and political corruption of this era.
First and foremost, who ever thought birth control and abortion would have to be an option? Well, if you could not afford to provide for your own health, you should not be able to bring a newborn at this period. In the article, “The Case for Birth Control” by Margaret Sanger speaks of how the lives of many in this progressive ere are struggle to live and she provides a solution to stop the over population and that newborn babies should not undergo a cruel lifestyle. She states, “At present, for the poor mother, there is only one alternative to the necessity of bearing children year after year, regardless of her health, of the welfare of the...

...Q: 5 Write note on the following:
Part (1) Progressivism:
Progressivism is a term that encompasses a wide spectrum of social movements that include environmentalism, labor, agrarianism, anti-poverty, peace, anti-racism, civil rights, women’s rights, animal rights, social justice and political ideologies such as anarchism, communism, socialism, social democracy, and liberalism.
Since many social and political groupings fit under the progressivist umbrella, there are bound to be some disagreements on some of the tenets of progressivism, but on core tenets progressivists find common ground to solidarize. Thus, even libertarianism might be considered for inclusion under the progressivist banner. In general, all these ideologies are more or less in opposition to unfettered capitalism and the capitalist-spawned agendas espoused by movements that occupy the right wing of the political spectrum. Even though capitalists do not sincerely reside within leftist political groupings, it cannot be assumed that political affiliation alone implies an individual is of progressivist persuasion or even, for that matter, steadfast leftism.
The right-wing agendas (for example, corporate globalization, neoliberalism, imperialism, and warring) have wormed their way into the fabric of most societies, abetted by the fact that right-wingers have gained preponderant control of the political processes in the major industrialized economies. Right-wingers...